KY350

See http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/lubrication/oilchange.html for explanation and pics

Time to conclude this little sqeeling noise. I had time to check my rear brake pads again. Took off the outside pad on the left rear of the car and while the pad material is low, its still useable. In fact, I noticed that there is a metal wear indicator on the pad and the pad material was still a couple of millimeters above the wear indicator. When I checked the inside pad, I noticed that the pad was worn down to the metal indicator tab and the tab was freshly worn. However, the pad material on this inside pad was as thick as the outside pad, which was still 2mm away from the wear indicator. So I simply pushed the metal wear indicator tab on the inside pad back away from the pad surface by approx 2mm to even it up with the outside pad. Reinstalled pads and test drove the car - no noises. Summary - if you have a constant squeeling noise on acceleration / desceleration, turning left or right, then check your pads as one or more are likely worn down to the metal wear indicator tabs, which cause a horribly loud squeeling noise to notify you to change pads. BTW - does anyone know what the thickness of a new rotor for a 91 LS 400 is supposed to be (front and rear)? Also, what thickness on a worn rotor would be considered out of spec and necesitate replacement rotors?

Thanks for the response nc211. I've had the car for 2 years and not replaced the rotors or the pads in that time. I think i'll take the car to the mechanics shop for a diagnosis as I cannot even tell if the noise is coming from the front or rear left of the car.

I'm getting a squeeling noise coming from the left hand side of the car. Due to Lexus noise insulation, I cannot hear the nosie when the windows are up. But when the windows are lowered, I can clearly hear the noise and it occurs at low speed, higher speed and turning left or right. I checked the brakes last weekend and while the pads are lowish on material, they are still useable. So I don't suspect any noise from the pads. All the wheel nuts are on tight. It doesn't sound like a wheel bearing noise either as that is usually a growning type of noise and this is a high pitched squeel. Any ideas on what may be causing the noise?

Thanks for the response 99lsguy. Last Feb I was going to do the PS fluid flush following the tutorial that appears on lexls website. However, my RHD model does not allow easy access to the inlet hose (have to remove several other components to get to the reservoir inlet), so I simply sucked out fluid from the reservoir and topped up with new fluid. Repeated about a dozen times and called it a day. This time however, I will take the car to the mechanic and have him do a complete flush and see if that gets rid of the groaning noise.

Well I have the exact same problem as choiboyogg. I get a slight groaning noise when I turn the steering wheel to the right and slightly less so when turning to the left. I check the power steering fluid level which was at the low mark with the engine cold. So I topped it up to the high tide mark with ATF and the noise was still there. Then I removed the power steering fluid resevoir cap and looked for bubbles in the fluid when turning the steering wheel. I could not detect any bubbles. Continued turning the steering wheel right and left, then took the car for a short drive. When I got back home, it was still making the same noise so again I removed the resevoir cap and turned the wheel. After all that, the noise still persisted. Could it be a problem with the actual power steering pump?

Sounds like you are doing everything correctly to get the best mileage out of the car. One thing that I have noticed is that my mileage suffers by at least 10% if I run the air conditioning system continuously. So my suggestion is to only use it when needed to maximise your fuel economy. Futhermore, try to us the air conditioning system at least a couple of time a week, even if just for 10 minutes at a time. This will ensure that the air cond system remains in good working condition and you will avoid regassing / leaks in the future.

I've had my 91LS for 2 summers now. Last summer I did not notice any discrepencies with the AC system, but this summer I have noticed that only the passenger side centre vent (that would be the driver side centre vent in the US models) is the only vent that blows cold air when I have the upper air vents selected. The other three dash vents seem to blow air that is significantly warmer than the passenger side centre vent. Is this normal? Furthermore, when I select the foot / upper vents button, the both the centre dash blow cool air and the side dash vents / foot vents blow warmer air. No I have read that the side dash vents are considered part of the "lower" air conditioning vents and are designed to blow ait that is approx 20F higher than the centre vents. But I cannot understand why cold air will not blow from all 4 vents (or at the very least from both the centre vents) when the upper dash vents are selected. Any suggestions?

maniek LS - lift up the bonnet and you will notice that on the underside of the bonnet there is some insullating material. This became lose at the front and flopped over the air intake, blocking / reducing the flow of air to the plenum, causing the above mentioned problems.

Yep - my 91 4 spead holds each gear just that little bit longer in the mornings for the first few minutes untill all the fluids at at optimum operating temperatures.

Aside from generating more posts for yourself, what exactly is the point of this post????

You can add either coolant or water as the amount that you would be adding would be so small as not not have a great effect on the ratio of coolant to water (ratios can vary anywhere between 50:50 and 70:30 coolant - if you live in a freezing environment, then go for the 70:30 coolant ratio). If the coolant is very red you are safe to just add water. If the colour is a light red / slightly pinkish, then add coolant. Actually, your coolant looks quite red, so I'd just add water. Also, I don't like to mix different coolants when I don't know the original coolant formulation.

Not sure that my response will be of much value to you as I am in Australia. But I paid about $30 (approx USD 22) for a 5L (approx 5 quarts) bottle of red. I purchased it from an auto store, not Lexus / Toyota, who I suspect would have charged a little more.

Wow! Can you please expain how does this procedure adjust the footbrake? Sure beats jacking the car up and taking wheels off.

Go here: http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/brake/fbpad.html See picture 5 onwards for shim plates. Note that there are 2 plates per pad.

I recall reading something about the red coolant resulting in much less corresion than the green. Also, my mechanic and a Lexus mechanic told me to specifically use red coolant. If you're going to flush out the system entirely, then get rid of the green stuff, use a flushing agent (as per the lexls website) and put in the red coolant. I got a longlife red coolant which is supposed to be good for 5yrs / 250,000km. At least I have the peace of mind to not worry about the coolant for 5 years or whenever the service manual indicates another flush is due, whichever comes first.

So it took you ten hours work + approx $200. If your charge out rate was $80 per hour (that's what my mechanic charges in AUD), then that bill would come to $1000. I don't know how good you are on the tools or how well you know your way around the LS400 engine, but generally, a qualified mechanic who has done this procedure previously, should be able to do the job in half the time. So 5 hours at $80 / hr is $400. Add $200 for the parts, then the bill should be only around the $600 mark or around half what you were quoted!!!!

I have noticed a lot of reports of bridgstone tyres getting very noisy, especially as they reach just the halfway mark down to the treadwear indicators. Unfortunately, the same thing happed on my other car with Bridgestones. Got very loud with just 10,000 miles!!! It appears that Bridgestone prefer to use a very stiff sidewall, compared to a alot of other manufacturers, and while it results in good road feel and steering response, the trade off seems to be a lot of tramlining and road noise. I was thinking of getting the LS tyres replaced with a set of Bridgstones that are OEM tyres for a Merc model (perhaps E class but I cannot recall specifically), but now I'm leaning towards something else. I wish we had the Comfort treads in Aust.

I do mine as per the handbook. I've had the car for just over a year now and with 280,000km on the odometer, I am cycling through the serivces again. Just did the 80,000km service which included the coolant flush. I was told tha you could always check the specific gravity of the coolant to see if its still good, but I don't know what level it should read. Also, I don't have a hydrometer! If your engine temp is within range and you don't live in an extermely cold climate, the coolant should last until its next service schedule, assuming it was replaced appropriately last time. If you're at all concerned, just replace the fluid. It should only cost you about $25US for the fluid so its no biggy.

Pirate - I ruined two of my shims when I was checking the pad wear just before Xmas. Rang Lexus (Aust) and they had to order from Japan 2-3 weeks delivery. The noise is annoying, but I only notice it on light brake application and goes away if I press a little more firmly on the brake pedal. BTW, I am getting just 2 plates for $18, where as the shim kit (4 plates a $5 pin and $5 grease) was $120 from Lexus - they'll take you for a ride where they can!

OK, I'm in Sydney and if you were here, I would have recommended an independant mechanic (he owned LS400 and SC430) to see about the rotors. Anyway, sounds like Lexus changed your rotors already, so there's nothing you can do now. Next time, tell Lexus to call you if any work outside of a handbook service is required. Then you can instruct them not to change the rotors and you can get an independant shop to check the rotors - just incase the dealership was trying to rip you off. BTW, my other car is a 350Z. I read about another 350Z owner that was quoted $5,800 to replace all rotors and pads by his Nissan dealer after just 30,000km. After having the brakes checked by a speciallist brake shop, he was advised that just the front pads needed changing - total cost $250.

Beeing on the other side of the globe, its the middle of summer in Australia and it gets quite hot. Whenever I leave the car in direct sunlight in 30+C (86+F) for about an hour, the inside temp is very high when I return to the car. I then manually set the temp to 22C (72F) with the fans speed on high. However, even after 10-15 minutes of driving, the cabin is still very warm inside and no where near 22C (but much cooler than the estimated 50C (122F) when I frist get in the car). I can feel cool air coming out from the dash vents, but funily enough, the temp of the air from the central passanger vent seems cooler to the feel than the air exiting from either the central drivers vent and the left and right side cabin vents. I cannot understand why the air from 1 of the 4 vents would be cooler than the other 3 vents. Also, with respect to the slow cool down rate of the interior temps, is that normal on a 91LS? Does tha air con system need a regass, or is regassing only done when there is no cool / hot air coming through the system?

Have a close look at the front brake rotors. If you can see a 1mm lip on the outer circumference of the rotor, then it is out of spec. If the edge of the rotor is flush with the rotor face, then the rotor is fine and Lexus may be attempting to fleece you. Where abouts in Aust are you?

KC - I don't know what effect leaving the radiator flush in the cooling system would have on it, but can you tell me if the flushing agent (not your original coolant) was green or red in colour? If it was green, then I would definately flush it completely clear with water. In fact even if it was red, I'd flush it clear with water as I don't know what effect if any it could have on the cooling system components. I had my coolant changed just a couple of weeks ago. I asked on this forum about an alternative flushing method as I could not access the left and right drain !Removed! from under the car to drain out all the old fluid. So after trying to drain all the fluid using just the front drain !Removed! (it doesn't drain completely using just this access point), I took it to the mechanic and he flushed it for me. What he did was really simple. He removed the heater hose located against the firewall and drained the coolant from there. Then he attached his water hose to one end of the heater hose and turned on the tap to flush the fluid out (you can also turn the heater on to max temp to increase flush speed). Once just clear water was coming out, he reconnected the heater hose and added between 4-5 quarts of red coolant through the coolant reservior, as there is already about 6 quarts of clear water in the system. Then just run the motor / heater as instructed in the tutorial. Once the car has cooled right down (several hours or next day) just check the coolant level in the reservoir tank and top up to between the lines with additional coolant if necessary. This procedure was slightly messy as the mechanic ran the coolant straight out of the heater hose and down the back of the engine into a drain. If you want to be environmentally sound, you would need to purchase some clear hose to attach over one end (the draining end) of the disconnected heater hose. That way, you could collect the old coolant / flush in a container for proper disposal. This whole procedure will take you between 30-45 minutes, so you may be able to do this before your weekend drive. Beats getting under the car and trying to get to those badly located drain !Removed! on either side of the engine. BTW, as I stated in another coolant flushing thread, I spoke with a Lexus mechanic about the flush procedure and they also use the heater hose - even he said draining from the !Removed! was way too hard LOL. I hope this is of some help.

Which model Turanza? Here in Aus I'm considering the ER50 and ER592.